


The Thin Line Between Truth and Lies

by originalcontent



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, PTSD, Slow Burn, don't look at the science too close, mentions of Justin Hammer, mentions of other Avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 16:22:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13485288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/originalcontent/pseuds/originalcontent
Summary: After the Chitauri invasion in Manhatten, Steve moves in with Tony and Pepper in what was previously Stark Tower (renovated to become the Avengers official HQ), friendships grow, relationships change and everyone becomes uncomfortably well versed in honesty. And things really start to speed up when Tony becomes unhinged dragging everyone down with him.





	The Thin Line Between Truth and Lies

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an idea I've had rattling around my head for the past two days! If I feel like there's more to go with this I might continue and have it take place after Age of Ultron. This will switch from Tony's POV to Steve's with each chapter. So far I think I'm doing three, maybe four so it can remain even. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! 
> 
> And a major thanks to thedrawingboard for beta reading this! They're wonderful and write some great Riddler centric fics that you should most definitely check out! Anyway, enjoy.

“So, you’re telling me that you _finished off the fifthteen bags I got for you_ , in the span of a week? Am I correct in assuming that?”

“Well actually it was more along eight days.”

Tony couldn’t help but break his false bravado and snort at Steve’s playful ways. Honestly, after the tension the pair faced during their first meeting, who would have known they would get along as well as they did now? It most likely had to do with the fact Steve was now residing in the new Avengers Tower that he and Pepper had designed. Pepper wasn’t completely sure if she should still live there but Tony insisted she was part of the team- albeit not in the same facets as the rest of them, but she was part of his team. Not to mention her feminine touch was definitely needed. Bruce was known to crash whenever he was in town, which was sporadic, and Tony knew better than to try and coerce him to stay. He needed to let Bruce do Bruce.

“Right, got it Cap. I’ll make sure we get you some more bags so you don’t go and hulk out on something else.” Giving the blond a quick pat on the shoulder as he rounded the deflated sacks that Steve had pounded into nothing. Hearing the other chuckle, he left with a smile on his face that didn’t last long. Walking to the elevator, the doors slid shut as he felt his chest tighten. Something about it was very unsettling. “Jarvis, brighten the lights and bring me back to my safe haven.”

“Yes sir.”

The lights adjusted just a touch, only having to wait a few moments before the doors opened, and he was greeted by the sanctum of his technological utopia. Tightness all but forgotten, Tony strutted in and did a small clap. As the sound echoed out around him, the lights all turned on, music starting instantly as it harmonized with the room’s soft hums of machines: constantly on and working. He had been working intensely on his suits after the whole almost dying in a hole in space incident. Really, he knew there was more to it than he let on. Tony wasn’t an idiot. But he decided that his own personal form of moving on would be best suited by working on his best suits. It helped soothed the anxiety that flooded his systems whenever he recounted that terrible, nightmarish episode. Eyes shut to the impeccable darkness, alien army ready to charge forward and decimate the planet. Before the dream could continue, he would wake up to a disturbed Pepper, woken up by his tossing and turning. She would worry, fret over him that something was wrong, but Tony continued to keep that wall up. Soothe her worries and reassure her he was fine. But he was far from fine. Stark men were made from iron. They didn’t break down- even if they were prone to being worn down and end up at the bottom of a bottle.

However, on his own, he focused his concerns on something proactive. He began creating more suits, better suits. The one he was currently working on was dubbed Mark 17. While working on these suits, they all showed him little personalities, giving just about all of them their own little nicknames. With what he had in mind for this guy, Tony figured a best fitting name would be Heart and Soul. Or Heart Blast- well not that. That was terrible. But something with Heart in it, due to the suit’s design to specialize in pure firepower. Tony had created an oversized chest RT that was built within the suit's armor. The blueprints he had reconfigured it would support such a blast. The blast radius was too small each time until he went ham on it and made it four times as big as the arc reactor in his chest. Least to say he was having the time of his life creating these, his children. Even if it was at the cost of his own sleep. And with Pepper running his company, and the world not in need of being saved for the time being, Tony had nothing better to do with his time. The few times Bruce came by gave him an opportunity to geek out properly with the man, but it still didn’t seem to interest him to the level he had hoped it would. Recalling when he attempted to bring Pepper into this part of his life more, Tony grimaced at the memory.

_“...And here, I installed this,” Tony gestured to an over-sized Unibeam attached to the center of its chest piece. It is held firmly by four metal bars that connect it around the suit's upper abdomen area. “With the bars holding it in place it can just go full Queen and rock it.” Looking to Pepper’s confused face, he decided to tone it down a bit. “I-It’s like this, you have the source of energy here and for it to be able to fire extremely immense power I had to stabilize it place in the suit and-”_

_“This is really great Tony.” Pepper interrupted him, a look on her face told Tony that his was all going above her head. Or worse, she just had no interest in it. Which Tony should have known. Pepper was smart, but she wasn’t a gear-head. She wasn’t particularly fond of Iron Man anymore after the initial charm wore off. “But I really do have to get going. For work.” He knew she did but she usually left at seven thirty, not seven. Tony decided to let it be and simply nod._

_“Yeah, no worries. Go, work. I’ll be here with a extra dry martini with extra olives waiting for you when you get home.” She gave him a smile and a peck on the cheek before she took off._

Shaking off the memory, Tony went right back to his work. His calling. The need for something to do with his hands. He started in on the acceleration level for the suit, making sure that while as bulky as it was it would move with as much fluidity as it would allow with the compliance of the suit if it were under attack. It all fell into place, each suit was different, but the math was similar for all of them. Working with the delightful tunes of Aerosmith’s ‘Living on The Edge’ playing in the background, all Tony heard was the sound of the lasers cutting and the whirring of a drill he used to screw in his prismatic bolts. By the time Tony was examining the exoskeleton to ensure it was just as top notch as its brothers, Tony realized just how hungry he was. When he tuned back into the music, it was Bon Jovi. Humming along to the guitar solo, he gazed around the lab, thinking. When he departed Steve, it was around eight thirty in the evening. Pulling himself away from his computer, he called out to his trustworthy AI.

“Jarvis, what time is it buddy?”

“Approximately four fifty-four sir.”

Huh. So about eight hours. Not too bad, hopefully Pepper didn’t mind. She didn’t come down to see if he was going to bed that night, but after the first few weeks she had given up on that altogether- except for a few times she had something to offer that Tony had turned down all of one time. And that one time he paid for it later. Standing up from where he was sitting, he stretched and lifted his arms above his head. Yup. There was a crack there and- ohh something definitely felt old and rickety.

“Turn the music down by half Jarvis and how about you send me up to the main kitchen?” Once in the elevator he was relieved that Jarvis kept the lights the same brightness. While it was a bit disorienting, it didn’t last long. Rubbing with his palms against his eyes he stepped out and let his hands drop. Wandering into the kitchen with the lights dimly lit, the kitchen lit up brighter once he stopped there. “Peanut butter, check.” Grabbing his personal favorite variant, his expeditious fingers retrieved the jar and the strawberry jam. Juggling the two jars in one arm, he closed the fridge and reached for the bread to the left of him. Halting in his process when he caught eyes with his newest roommie, Steve. Nearly dropping the jam, he set all procures on the counter and slowly continued grabbing his instruments for a late night (or early morning) snack. He could appreciate the man’s workout outfit, a tight tee v-neck and some dark navy sweats. Steve had a bit of an incredulous look as he looked to what Tony was doing, then back to Tony’s face. Something akin to concern played across his face, but he swept it under the rug before Tony had a chance to decipher it. It didn’t take a genius to see why he would be concerned. After all, he was wearing the same clothes since last he saw Steve. “Yes?” Tony broke the silence as Steve seemed to find the right words to question him.

“What are you doing awake?” It wasn’t like this was the first time Steve caught him up this late. Or on a streak.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Unscrewing each lid, he quipped back weakly. There was no real point in denying he’d been up. For some reason he always felt better about doing the jam first, then peanut butter.

“I’m doing laps. I always get up at this time. This is the fourth time I’ve found you up this late.”

“Really? Laps at five am? Look Cap, I get it you’re trying to not be around as many people as possible. So I have a tip for you: why not just run inside? We have this new invention you’ll get a kick out of. It’s called- are you ready?- a treadmill.” Stopping his sandwich preparations to wave his arms slowly, he put on a proud face. Going right back to his work, he briefly glanced up to see an un-amused Steve.

“You can’t replicate the outdoors Tony.” Touché.

“I don’t know, we’ve got fans and I can change the surroundings in the gym to make it seem like you’re running around a park.” Pausing he added; “Maybe dog park? You seem like the kind of guy who likes dogs. You probably always wanted one huh?” Having made three sandwiches all the while he cleaned up his little mess licking some jam off his thumb. Not a great idea seeing as he failed to wash his hands before making his food.

“Tony.”

“Present.” Again, Steve didn’t look like he enjoyed his joking. He really was a sourpuss in the mornings. Not that Tony was any better.

“You need to take care of yourself.” With that he approached Tony who was busily washing his hands. “Like washing your hands before you make something to eat.” Before Tony could say something smart alecky in retort, Steve had tossed his dinner/breakfast.

“Hey!” Approaching him with still damp hands, he glared up at him. “Make haste, not waste Steve.”

“Secondly, you should be having something more substantial. Am I right in guessing you haven’t eaten any real food since lunch yesterday?” He hated when Steve was right. Taking his silence as confirmation, he watched as Steve went back to the fridge. “Look, I’m no chef, but I can make something that outta tide you over ‘till the morning.”

“Uh, thanks but no thanks Steve, I think I’ll just live off of my pb and j’s, so you can just go ahead and run right on out of here before I press charges on you for throwing away my three most prized possessions.” There was a bit of a smile on his face from that. That was better. Steve looked at him a long while until he realized Tony wasn’t budging. Pulling away, he stepped around the island in the kitchen and was on his way out but he stopped.

“I’ll see you later Tony, hopefully you’ll get some rest.”

“Yeah, see you Cap.” Starting up on his next three sandwiches, he kept his gaze down until he heard Steve get in the elevator and descend. Sighing, he left the knife in the jar and looked to where Steve stood. Knowing him, he’d talk to Pepper or something and try to get him some sort of bedtime. The guy could be controlling, but Tony knew it came from a place of caring. The thought of that made Tony feel better. He hadn’t realized he was feeling bad in the first place. But the thought that Steve cared about him, as a friend or teammate was comforting. Finishing up in the kitchen, he got some liquid chlorophyll to go along with it. Spoiler, it did not go along with it very well. When he retreated back to his workshop, he ate, started up his music at ear blasting levels and looked over the specs for his newest suit he had all but finished. It wasn’t until he was having a arduous time staying awake did he realize he really did need to sleep. And without giving full consent he fell asleep at another desk, slumped over it. Only to awaken when Jarvis alerted him someone was coming to the workshop. “Huh?”

“I said Captain Rogers is awaiting permission to enter, shall I allow him entry, sir?”

“Yeah, sure.” Groggily sitting up, he rubbed his face with both hands, yawning as he swiveled in his chair to face the direction Steve would be coming in. “Hey, finish your running already?” Looking at Steve, he cleared his throat to address the AI. “Lower the music back to twenty Jarvis.” When it was done, it finally occurred to him that Steve looked different. He wasn’t wearing his workout gear. No, he was wearing his ‘I got home a few hours ago’ normal outfit.

“Yeah. And I hoped you would have been in bed, not sleeping down here.” Steve took the liberty of stepping closer and taking one of the random chairs that were askew in his lab and sat on it. “I did bring you something.” Pulling forward a pink bag, Steve offered it to Tony.

“Oh I hope it’s not that thing from Victoria’s Secret I had up. Steve, buddy I wasn’t looking at that magazine to shop.” This got another little laugh from Steve who urged him to take it. “You know, I don’t really like being handed things.” The other now he lost the humor but didn’t seem impatient. Instead, Steve rose to his feet and put the contents of the bag on his desk, moving the tablets and papers aside. It was a full pie. But it wasn’t a pie? “Okay, can I phone a friend?- By the way, that friend is you.”

“Ha, ha.” Grabbing from his mystery bag a paper plate, plastic knife, and fork, he cut a piece and steam came out of it. Along with a beautiful aroma of cheese, eggs and bacon. And a hint of spinach? “This is a bacon and egg pie. It has onions, tomatoes, spinach, cheese, bacon and eggs. I got it at this bakery down in Brooklyn.” He was following Steve up until that last part.

“You went all the way to _Brooklyn_ for your little run?”

“Yup.”

“...And you made it back before this got cold?”

“Well, yes. I mean, I did cheat and took the subway on the way back, but that was because one of my shoes started coming apart.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. And sad.” The piece Steve had cut brought Tony close to salivating. Honestly, he felt like he was one of Pavlovs dog’s. The top crust was a nice brown and the cheese outweighed most of its contents. As he looked back to Steve, he let a real smile make an appearance. “Thanks Steve. But you know I can’t finish this by myself, right?” Chuckling, the soldier nodded and abruptly stopped with an ‘oh’ and grabbed the last thing from his Mary Poppin’s bag. “What’s…” Trailing off he took hold of the bottle and chortled at the label. “Ah, wow, I didn’t know this was...was a thing. Wow.” It was a Iron Man brand of coffee. The picture was less than flattering and the coffee was not dark roasted, so already something Tony did not agree with. “Where did you find this? Did you run all the way to New Jersey or something?” Looking up at the other, Steve seemed awfully proud.

“Nope, it was in the same bakery. I thought you might like it.” Grabbing the chair he abandoned earlier and taking a seat close to Tony, it caused Tony to shift away. Only slightly, not enough for the other to notice. Steve cut himself a substantially bigger piece and the two ate their pieces in respective silence. At one point the silence between them was heavy and filled with tension. Now it was only slightly tense but Tony busied himself with plucking screens from seemingly nothing and going through his schematics. “What’re you working on now?” This gained Tony’s attention. Steve had finished his piece and was now watching Tony - well, Tony’s hands with fascination.

“Mark 17, my newest suit.” His eyes returned to the cerulean projection screen. As he used on finger to flick through the information, his other hand brought one of the last few bites of his piece to his mouth. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he felt Steve scoot his seat closer. His gaze turned to the other as he set down the piece. He was indeed closer, very close in fact. “Yes?”

“Sorry, I just…” Looking only to the screen, he looked utterly captivated. It was endearing. “I’ve seen similar things at SHIELD- you built all of that too. Right?” Looking Tony in the eyes his gaze immediately returned to the screen as he grabbed the hologram with both hands. “It’s just so hard to comprehend you’re actually holding that. It looks...like something out of a sci fi comic.”

“It’s just a thin layer of plastic foil placed over the glass.” Waving his free hand in a gesture to suggest it was nothing, Tony caught a glimpse of a still confused Captain. Biting back a sigh, he turned and held the projection between the two of them. "The plastic looks transparent, yeah? Well it is, but if you hit it with just the right wavelength of light scatter you’ll produce an image on the glass. After that it was just a case of getting small enough tech, nanotech to be more accurate, and programing it ahead of time. The hardest part of this whole thing was finding the right algorithm- calculations, that would work with such tiny tech and perform flawlessly in something so paper thin." Pausing, he saw Steve through the blue tint. He was practically at the edge of his seat, hanging on to Tony’s every word. Feeling motivated, he continued with gusto. “So you know how windows are normally transparent? Well that’s because ambient light passes through glass unimpeded. We replicated that with the glass and plastic by having nanoparticles that can reflect the three primary colors back at the viewer. You like art, right?” With a confirming nod from the other he carried on right away. “So it was a matter of being able to get the tech to blend into the glass and not obstruct the light it was processing. Once the glass was able to reflect the primary colors, red, yellow and blue, any combination of colors was possible.” Tony could go on and on about things like this but usually it was lost on his audience. “Did you follow any of that?”

“I’m not familiar with all technical jargon but I think I got the jist of it. I do have a few questions.” That was a bit of a surprise as well. He didn’t think that Steve would have a clue about what he was saying. Not to mean it in a rude way, but the guy was nearing one hundred years old and had missed the beginning of the golden age of technological advancements. But here he was, rearing up and excited to learn about all he had missed. “So nano, that’s greek for small? So small hardware is inside of this thing? Or is it software?” Pointing to the holographic screen Tony couldn’t help but feel proud of the other. And a bit happy to explain this to him. While explaining things usually ended with someone growing bored, either Tony or the poor sap who would be victim to his ramblings, this was different. It was almost like how it was with Bruce but… different.

“Well buddy let’s start with what hardware and software are. Hardware is the actual physical components and software is coding and programs.” Tony went on like that, rambling and Steve only stopped him in order to ask a handful of questions. Otherwise, he listened attentively, his gaze fixated on Tony solely. To have such unbridled attention, Tony almost felt like a professor and Steve was the kid who was aiming to be teachers pet. But in a good way. Before he knew it the pair finished the pie and the coffee, even went up to get some more provisions, and Tony hadn’t stopped talking the entire time. He went from describing the holo tablets to discussing the scientific discoveries that Tony himself had made from ages eight to currently. Tony didn’t touch anything regarding his weapon leaps and bounds, but not to hide it, because Steve already knew about that. It was just that he wasn’t proud of those. But there was so much he was proud of that while he did receive recognition for he didn’t really appreciate it the same way he would with someone like Bruce or...Steve, apparently.

They were now in a different part of his lab, a bowl of popcorn, pretzels and other salty snacks spread on the table in front of them. Steve sitting on a loveseat across from Tony who was spread on the couch opposite of him. Both were like that for a while, moving on from science and technology to Steve, his life before being the Captain. Things you couldn’t learn from files or the media. Of course it did garner some friendly ribbing when they brought up the topic of Steve’s birthday and how perfect the date was. When Steve spoke of his family, they both became somber.

“Sarah, my mother, she was a woman like no other…” Steve’s gaze fell to the floor when he said that, his smile still present but it didn’t seem like it was happy. Tony recognized that smile- he wore it too often himself. “She was beautiful. Her hair was so light, her skin was fair, and her eyes. I remember thinking they were the same as the sky. I even tried to paint her once.” His hands were clasped together already, but they tightened slightly. “Of course getting my hands on any paint or brushes for that matter was next to impossible for a poor family like ours.” His shoulders were tense. “But one day for my birthday I got a set of paints, they were small and old but I loved them. And the first thing I attempted to paint was her. She loved it.” Steve wet his lips and let out a breathy chuckle and looked at Tony. “I was very lucky to be given such a kind woman for a mother.”

“Yeah, she sounded like one of a kind Steve.” Tony gave him a sympathetic look but for some reason a pang of jealousy hit his abdomen. He knew he had no right to feel jealous, but without thinking too hard about it he knew why. His own mother, while she cared in her own way, had let Howard act brutal towards him and stood by. She didn’t know how to comfort Tony and never came to his defense, but he knew in her own way she tried. The little things she did. “What about your dad?” Tony knew his father died early in his life, could recite what day and what the cause of death was. But he knew better than most what it was like for people to treat you like a baseball trading card and trivializing your tragedies.

“Joseph, he died in combat before I was born. But my mother often told me I was just like him in looks and in actions.” Joseph Rogers, 107th infantry, awarded the Purple Heart after his death. “Both he and my mother were Irish immigrants, so that might have been what drove them together. With her being a nurse and him being a soldier, they fell in love and had me. I guess I thought I could model my life after that, or at least be like him and serve and die for my country.” There was something there, something that scared Tony. But he didn’t want to acknowledge what it sounded like. Steve seemed to realize just what it sounded like. His entire expression shifted, and he grabbed a handful of popcorn, a few kernels clacking on the floor. “Tell me about Howard and Maria, that was your mothers name, right?”

“Yeah, Maria.” Tony didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news for Cap, didn’t want to tell him about how he felt his father was consistently distant and when he wasn’t distant he was antagonizing towards him as early as he could remember. “Well, not much to say.” Arms resting behind his head he looked up at the ceiling and without thinking about it his leg started to shake off the arm of the couch. “Dad was a genius who shaped a generation and left big shoes to fill. Mom was...well mom. Pretty, elegant.” It was a stark contrast to Steve’s tales, the fondness he held when speaking about his family. Even the father he never knew. And then Tony only spoke impersonally, as if he really didn’t have anything to say. Like most mothers told their children, if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. Steve seemed to pick up on this as he chewed away at the popcorn, finishing it as silence once again hung between them. Both held in their own grief, Tony’s gaze searching the ceiling for some way out of this awkward moment.

“Can I see your new suit?”

“Hm?” Looking at Steve now he moved his head a bit and saw the man cleaning his hands with one of the scattered napkins.

“Your new suit, Mark 17, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I see it?” He genuinely seemed like he wanted to learn more about the things Tony made. Tony couldn’t place his finger on it but something about the way the other had taken interest in his work was something different. It was like he cared about the work, but also something different. Seeing Steve still look to him, innocently questioning, Tony couldn’t help but break out a grin even if it didn’t feel one hundred percent. Sitting up he took a few pretzels and walked into the other room, Steve following close behind him.

“So I’m just about done, have to run a few more calculations and have Jarvis put the finishing coats on it but then…” Stopping just at his newest suit, it was displayed right before them on a table. “Here he is. My newest creation.” Looking at Steve, he was expecting him to be looking at the suit, but instead he was watching Tony. But he quickly averted his gaze and was now going around the table and looking deeply at the suit. “...It’s most notable feature is the fact that it’s going to have the strongest and most enhanced chest unibeam. This artillery level suit is bulkier than the others, so it’s not as fast but as you old timers would say, it packs a wallop.” Giving Steve the side eye, he saw the smile that blossomed on his face. Returning his gaze back to the suit he felt pride swell in his chest.

“It’s amazing Tony.”

“Thanks- hey Jarvis, why don’t you be a pal and bring up a mini Mk 17” And then appeared a small scaled model of the suit fully done. It was in blue but it was fully 3-D. With both his hands, he tapped on Mark 17’s chest and moving both hands in opposite directions to zoom in on it. “See the chest piece here?” Looking to Cap he pinched the non-existent edges of the chest, showing it to the soldier who completely found this all riveting. “It’s four, four point five times larger than the original size. It’s using a vibranium arc reactor- mark two.” Moving one hand he wrapped his fingers around the holographic circular reactor and slowly pulled it out. Releasing it, he flicked away a few of the metal rods that would hold it within the armor securely. “It’s got the most advanced repulsor tech out of all of my armors and can utilize it the best. It’s firepower is what really gives it a edge. I still haven’t figured out what I should call him.” Tilting the cylindrical piece in his hand, he examined it. It held every little detail, scaling it to be the actual size he tossed it to Steve who caught it with ease and was taken back by it. “I was thinking something like Heartburn but…” Shrugging, he clapped his hands together only to bring them to his hips.

“This is... this is amazing Tony.”

“You already said that, but thanks.”

“Whatever you call it...it doesn’t matter. This is...wow.” Steve held it carefully, one hand supporting the underneath while the other twisted and ‘pulled’ off the front part of the core. As he looked inside it was pure light, like a flashlight. Steve seemed like he could stare at it for a long time. “You really are like this...conductor of macherniary and science. You really create some outstanding inventions with only your wit and grit. I’m constantly impressed by the things you can do.” Spinning the reactor, he stopped it on a dime. Tony all the while practically gaped at Steve. That was one of the nicest things the man had said to him. No, no Tony was sure that was the nicest thing he had said to him. If it made his cheeks heat up, he didn’t acknowledge it nor did Steve notice. He was too busy picking apart every little piece of his invention.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He said it so simply, so kindly without any indication that he expected anything from it. He said it not to be nice or for any selfish reason. Steve just spoke with honesty. And that was what made Tony revel in that compliment all the more. “Would it...be alright if I came down here tomorrow?” Tony had still been looking at Steve, but Steve didn’t look back to Tony when he asked. He seemed worried that Tony might say no, which was humorous. “If you think I’ll be a distraction or if I’ll be in the way, don’t worry I understand, but if there’s a chance I would really enjoy to do this again.” Something about that made Tony feel strange. He had a feeling he knew and it made him nervous. Regardless of what his brain told him, he ignored it.

“Sure.” And then Steve grew the damnedest smile that he’d ever seen, one so genuine, he felt awful about how possessive he grew for that smile. Shelving those thoughts, Tony grabbed the helmet of the suit and examined it. “Who knows? Maybe you could help me come up with a name for this one. I’m stumped.” Tapping the forehead, the pieces all floated apart slowly. Hands outstretched he gestured for the pieces to come around his head and they did quickly. The usual Iron Man screen didn’t show as he wore it, but he could almost feel it on him. See what he would see. “How do I look?” Steve broke his gaze from the reactor to look at Tony and started laughing. Tony knew he would look silly but he didn’t think he looked that bad. “Yuck it up Cap, wait till I design something prettier for you to wear on the battlefield. How do you feel about a corset and stiletto heels?” That stopped Steve’s laughter but he still had it bouncing in his eyes.

“Not my style. Try again.”

“Fine, I’m thinking Malibu Ken meets Uncle Sam.”

The pair went back and forth comfortably for a while, going back to their chatter, talking about many things and then nothing. It was nearing ten pm by the time Steve finally bid Tony farewell. As he left Pepper was entering. Exchanging greetings she watched him leave before entering the lab. Tony was tinkering with some new gloves he and Cap were discussing. He was just getting started on it when the clicking of Pepper’s heels got his attention. He didn’t turn to face her, he simply waited until she crossed the room. Tony could smell the perfume she was wearing, it was the kind she wore when she had meetings with the board and clients through the entire day. Diptyque Do Son Eau De Toilette, he got it for her birthday one year, or more specifically Pepper got it for herself with Tony’s card one year. It was one of his favorites on her, but it lost its charm when he started to associate it with the days she would often spend away from him. She had gotten just behind him as he started writing out what he would need and how he would need to design it. He’d need Steve’s exact measurements.

“Tony.”

“Pep.”

“Did you have a good day?”

“Yup, and how was your day sweetheart?”

“It would be a lot better if you turned around.”

“Fine.” Turning in his seat to face her he placed a smile on, one that she knew all too well and seemed all the more pissed to see. It was going to be one of those pissy Pepper days. Those had been growing more and more frequent as time went on, it seemed her last straw was the whole alien invasion. Not that he blamed her, Tony knew he was being unreasonable with staying most nights (and days) in his lab. Tinkering away, the scientist wanted to further his discoveries in his field and to push the boundaries of what he could make and what would blow up in his face. Leaving his girlfriend alone where any other woman would have gotten fed up and left. But Pepper stayed, she cared about him more than anyone ever had and saw past his flaws. However, the thing about Tony that he knew he must have gotten from someone, dad, was he had a knack for pushing those he loved away. The one person who he didn’t do that to was Rhodey, but that wasn’t always true. The look on Pepper’s face spoke about how she felt about his neglect to their relationship in volumes. “What?”

“What? Do you remember what today is?” Voice exasperated, eyes wide with disbelief as she exhaled and shook her head. Muttering “I’m not surprised” underneath her breath as she tilted her head away briefly. A few stray strands of her soft orange hair fall in her face. He lifted his hand to brush them away as he used to do, but she did it herself with angry, swift movements. She got tired of waiting all of ten seconds and continued with annoyance popping in every vowel. “It’s our _anniversary_ , Tony. I made plans for us. I told you yesterday morning at breakfast. You agreed to the time and I left a note for you in our room.” Tony hadn’t been in their room since yesterday morning. “I was waiting there for an hour, Tony. Do you know how embarrassing and just how upsetting it was to know you were just here playing with your suits and friends rather than meeting me for our anniversary?” Near the end of her sentence, her voice sounded broken. That killed Tony. Her eyes grew misty, and he knew he had to do something, say something to fix this.

“Wait, Pep, I’m so sorry. It completely slipped my mind. I-I haven’t been sleeping well.” His voice shook as as his hands did right now.

“I know you haven’t Tony. _I wake up_ when you leave.” She had an accusing tone now, still smothered by the tears that began to fall. “I’m tired of being alone in this relationship Tony. I can’t...I can’t do it anymore.”

“Pepper, I’m sorry. But, please, d-don’t say that. Pepper.” He stepped towards her, one shaking hand touched her arm, but she shook it off. “Pepper, I love you, I’m sorry I’m a fuck up but please.” He couldn’t lose her. No. Things had been bad sure, but he knew they could fix it. If he lost Pepper, then he really was losing everything.

“I’m sorry Tony. I have to get out of here.” Turning to leave, she got to the door, leaving Tony frozen in place. “We…” She didn’t continue, looking over her shoulder, she had one last tear fall down her cheek. “I’m sorry.” Walking out she held one hand over her mouth and walked out of his life. Tony stood there for who knows how long, hoping she would come back. Feeling he should run after her. But he just stood there. His legs grew numb, and finally he sat back in his chair and looked at the desk- but not really. His gaze shot through it. Throwing everything on the ground, he felt only an inkling of his anger expel. Breathing heavily suddenly, he went to his couch once more and placed his hand on his chest, feeling the arc reactor beneath his shirt. Dropping onto the couch, he ran one hand down his face. Shutting his eyes tightly, he willed himself to not cry. Instead he simply stayed like that and ended up falling asleep. The sleep was not fulfilling in the slightest. It wasn’t until he felt someone shaking him awake did he feel like he was breathing. Gasping he sputtered out; “Pepper!?” Before his gaze adjusted and he saw Steve hovering above him, worry etched in his features.

“Tony, are you okay?” Was he okay? Did yesterday happen?

“No.” For the first time in a long time, Anthony Stark told the **truth**.


End file.
